Boston Invite and MD's return

So, first off, sorry I haven't published anything this month. I have been working on some administrative things and they have caused some setbacks. However, after having just been in Devens, I can't keep a lid on my writing anymore and I want to get somethings out for you guys.

Boston

Yikes, these guys are really freaking good. I know I started this whole blog thing off with a not so nice piece about Boston and they have sort of hated me ever since. I'm not sure I regret what I did but hopefully 2008 will be a new year with some good content from the BU boys.

Judging from a year ago, this team has really improved. I can imagine with guys like Holzer, Ryan Todd, and Jeff Graham coming over from Metal, it was a little tough to get them integrated into the BU system. In addition, guys like Goldstein, Teddy, and Jasper were also new fish that needed to get up to speed. However, after a year of ironing things out, it looks like Boston is ready for glory.

They also have a ton of new pickups. Colin Mahoney is back, Will Neff is a new D-line handler and George Stubbs is my pick to carry the Boston torch into the future. In the early 90's it was Steve Mooney, mid 90's it was Parinella, late 90's it was Forch, then Zipp sort of, and if he keeps it up, Stubbs. This Harvard kid is incredible and he is only 19. I only watched the tail end of the GB game (which he caught the game winner) and the finals where he more or less did everything. He had a huge layout scoop to save a score, he got up and over pile after pile in the endzone, and he reeled in his fair share of amazing layout Ds. His combination of youth and skill puts him up there as one of the best prospects in the country and I would look for him in the Callahan race in 2-3 years.

Oh and Boston also has this dude from Florida named Kurt Gibson, I hear he is good. Bottom line, I think Boston is a semis team this year, and if they can put the pieces together at Nationals they could make it back to the Finals after a decade of missing out.

GOAT

I have to say, I was not impressed with GOAT this weekend. They made the finals at BI which is an amazing feat but their performance in the finals left me flat. They also had extremely close games against Bodhi (quarters) and PoNY (semis) on their way to the finals and I think they have a lot of work to do before they can think about Sarasota.

GOAT this weekend reminded me a lot of what Colorado looked like at TiV and Stanford this year. John Hassell is easily their biggest weapon and like Jolian, he is stuck having to hang back with the disc and basically do everything. He never comes off the field, but despite his skill and composure, he's just not getting much help. GOAT seemed to want to jack it a ton and based on their size I'm not surprised. However, Boston's man D was superb and their zone really slowed GOAT down. Boston's offensive efficieny is a third concern and these things made it relatively easy for BU to dominate.

What is surprising is that they do have other weapons like Jeff "Link" Lindquist, who played a phenomenal tournament. This guy was playing with Team Fisher Price and GOAT and he was uncoverable. He is lighting fast with great cutting ability and I think he will be very valuable for GOAT this year.

What's weird is that GOAT is good. They were like 50-6 last year with several tournament wins including Boston Invite. They have confidence and experience but it just didn't look like it yesterday. They also need to work on their intensity. I got the chance to meet John Hassell, who is a really nice guy by the way, but he, like the rest of GOAT, seemed a bit passive. Boston was rushing the fields and getting up after every score/D and GOAT just wasn't. Maybe its because Boston is playing more or less on their home turf, but this team was nowhere near what they were last October at Regionals when they got as close as anyone to beating out Boston for the Regional title.

In the end, I think it is still early and tournament experiences like this are tough but they are what helps you learn. I hope with this experience and previous ones, GOAT will keep on improving and give Boston a better game in 3 months.

Oh and like last year, GOAT has THE BEST jerseys. Apparently one of their players works for VC (bonus) so look for me to talk up their new threads this year.

Bodhi

Wow, this team is the real deal. I am going to write a full fledged article on them (and I will for Boston, GOAT, PoNY, and a bunch of other teams) but for right now, i just want to say that these guys are legit. When I did my Juniors Team USA article I did an interview with Andrew Hollingworth and he told me that the best thing about 2006 was the friends he made and how he wished he could have more time with them.

Well, in 2008, he got his wish. Bodhi is more or less the best Junior Worlds talent in the country (save Stubbs, he gets to play with the big boys) and they have all the pieces. They are all talented, young, committed and experienced. Andrew, Christian Foster, Russell Wallack, Sam Roberts, Micah Flynn, Patrick Roberts, etc.. are all world class Juniors talents and either ARHS alums or just great young flat ballers. Miles is also a very talented player from Slow White and guys like Charlie Upton, Tyler Auer, and Chris Skipper are all motivated college veterans who want to play with like minded players.

With all of these things to consider, it is not surprising that this team has all the pieces and they are going to give PoNY some pressure from underneath as the 3rd team to come out of the NE, if not better.

PoNY

I talked with Jody Avrigan about his team and these guys are excited for 2008. They are headed to Seattle in two weeks and Jody also told me that they made it into Labor Day. PoNY has been a team that has been trying to break into the National scene for sometime and 2008 could be their year. They have some new pick ups like Aaron Bell (Oregon) and Nate Raines (Dartmouth, Juniors Team USA 2004), not to mention scores of veterans like BVH and Bailey Russell. However, they have their work cut out for them. Bodhi is easily their biggest challenge in 2008 and despite the fact that PoNY made semis and Bodhi lost in quarters, the youngins still are 1-0 against the Pride of New York. Their advantage is experience, but not by much, and they will have to rely on their Club Regionals experience while Bodhi relies on their experience in the College Series.

As a tangent, one thing that got me thinking after talking with Jody was about how Club tournaments differ from College. Since Skip came onto the scene with Cultimate, College Ultimate has really gone nationwide. Vegas, Stanford, and Centex are all tournaments where regional location mean very little. This is the future of ultimate and I love seeing teams face eachother from across the country. However, club ultimate seems to be more like what college ultimate used to be. Boston Invite is very East Coast heavy and Solstice, Cal States, and Labor Day are all West Coast heavy. This kind of reminds me of the way Pres Day, Stanford, and Ultimax used to be with teams staying close to home. There are some exceptions with tournaments like Colorado Cup and maybe Seattle Invite if it stays around, but they still have a long way to go before they are like Centex, Stanford, or Vegas.

There was some talk about how teams should be organized/seeded on RSD a while back and with tournaments with like 8 teams in the "elite" division, it really doesn't do a whole lot for parity. I know it is hard to travel a ton as an adult (which is probably why club teams stay close to home) and teams want major challenges if they travel across the country, but wouldn't it be nice if the top 12 or so teams at Nationals saw eachother a few times before nationals? I hear Labor Day is going to be pretty close to that so maybe that'll shut me up but for the last few years, it seems like tournaments could be a bit more Sarasota-esk.

DoG

We got the chance to play DoG again and despite the fact that I'm still out, it was still cool to face them again. I think Parinella is still bitter about WMO last year because he was really fired up for this game. Our most athletic player lined up on him and despite the fact that he is a fantastic athlete and an experienced player, Jim scored at will. I think he had 3 or 4 deep scores on John and despite the fact that Korber is half Parinella's age, he still got taught a lesson or two.

I also got the chance to finally meet Alex de Frondeville and my only regret was that I didn't save any Keystones from the previous night so we could shotgun, oh well. I'll have a few more chances. In addition, before Jim or Alex get the chance to poke fun at me, I thought I would just mention that I spent most of Sunday with duct tape on my mouth. I always lose my voice at tournaments and the best way to get it back is to just not talk. Even if there is no one to talk to, I'll just talk to myself and the duct tape is the only way to shut me the hell up. Jim had a good line saying "thats a good look for you" and I wish I could have tossed a jibe back at him but, I had duct tape on my mouth.

The game itself was fairly frustrating to watch. Like most masters teams, they were just more patient and crafty than us. They capitalized on mistakes and punished the youth of our team. I think the one thing that was effective, and this worked against Above and Beyond last year, is the huck. Masters teams are usually a bit slower (although Jim and a bunch of other DoG guys routinely smoked us) and I think it is a good idea to be aggressive. Playing small ball will not work because the old guys do it better but if you play a bit grip and ripe you can be successful.

Colt 45

As for my own team, we played a great tournament. I feel like a lot of elite players don't know what it's like to lose, but we do. We were 0-8 in pool play at BI the last two years but this year we went 2-2 on Saturday. We beat Firebird, a team that beat us 13-8 previously, and kept a lid on Run Silent, Run Deep as usual. In addition, we came out on Sunday fired up and took out Medicine Men, a team we have lost to a bunch of times and never beaten, on universe.

The game was actually pretty awesome. We traded breaks the whole game and after a few miscues we ended up tied at 14's for universe, with us receiving. Korber had tossed a few flick hucks in the game, all turnovers, and he put up a lazer that one of our cutters couldn't reel in on a layout. Bottom line, we turned in on double game. However, like the superstar that he is, John came up huge on D. One Med Men player tossed a cross field swing in the end zone and John came out of nowhere to sky Bill Mill (sorry buddy) for a game ending Callahan. The player who tossed the Callahan was more than a little peeved, but thats ultimate. We rushed the field. it was bad ass and despite losing our last game to DoG, we felt good about BI, for once.

One thing I think is funny is that when I got home I watched "Semi-Pro" with my roommates and it is nice to see a movie about not winning it all, but just winning a realistic game like "4th place". Most competitors don't get to be #1 but we still can have glory and success and our experience at Boston Invite was just that. Great work guys. It has been a challenge to play with Colt the last 3 years but it looks like we are finally picking up some deserved momentum and I hope it lasts.

Closing Thoughts

As for the rest of the summer, I'm not entirely sure what my content is going to be like. I have a ton of ideas and I have already done interviews with captains/reps from the Buzz Bullets, Furious, Sockeye, Jam, Bravo, SubZero, Chain, GOAT, Boston, the Dingos (Australia), Bodhi, and PoNY but I'm not sure how the information will be published. I have been trying to get more of my stuff onto mssui which is what has slowed me down a little bit, but I'm not sure the format will be the same. For the last year I have become what most folks call a "gonzo journalist" in the Hunter S Thompson sort of way. However, mssui seems to be a bit more formal. I feel like I can write both ways but I really enjoy the informal Bill Simmons "bloggey" style. I feel like I have established myself as a personality in this sport and the writing itself doesn't stand alone, but has my sort of spin on it.

So with that being said, I have a poll up, Informal or Formal. What do you guys like? Do you like my MD style more or my mssui-esk style? I prefer the former but i'll let you guys vote.

Thanks again for your support and patience. I really love this stuff and I appreciate all the people that come up to me at tournaments telling me they read my stuff. Stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Congrats to Sockeye, Shazaam, DoG, and Fury

Wow, this was an exciting Club Nationals and I was 1,500 miles away. I had some friends there in Sarasota feeding me information and given the results and the energy, I can only imagine what it would have been like to be there. I know that there will be lots of talk about how teams won or lost, but I just wanted to contribute some thoughts.

First off, ahh, Furious, you broke my heart. Eshk, maybe it was the new jerseys. Couldn't really get a good look at what they were sporting from the UvTv footage, but my sources say they looked cool. I suppose it’s a nice switch from their usual white. I don't think there is anything I can say about their performance considering I have no idea what it takes to win at such a high level for so long. Maybe it was CUC, ECC, Labor Day, Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals all happening within 2.5 months. This team is stellar but this team is also getting older. Mike Grant turned 30 this summer, Lugsdin is 38, Shank and Savage are both 33. They have been at the top for nearly a decade and most of their talent could easily qualify for masters (34). Not to say that Furious is out of it forever, but they need to get some new talent. Oscar is an absolute gem considering his game experience and the fact that he is only 24(?). However, at this level, Furious has to reload and pull talent the way the likes of Sockeye, Boston, Chain, and Bravo are doing. I have spoken with folks close to Furious and it seems like this has been a problem for a long time and I think it just finally caught up with them. I will say that they did battle back and win all other games earning them 9th place. I think that they will need to get more kids like Sean Boyle, Oscar, Morgan, etc... if they are going to get back to the top in the future.

Bravo Johnny Bravo. I know they lost in a close game, but this team made a HUGE leap into their ultimate future. If you look at Bravo's performance over the last few years they have been sooo close to making the finals and now they have done it. I think that Bravo now is what sockeye was 5 years ago. You have a rich crop of young talent that is getting experience at every series tournament. With additions like Popiel and a farm system like Mama Bird, it is only a matter of time before this team wins titles. I really think that playing a team like Sockeye in the finals is really a tough draw. Had Jam beat Sockeye in semis Bravo would have easily won nationals. However, this was the first time Bravo was ever in the finals at nationals. This was Sockeye's 4th trip in a row. I can't even imagine what kind of pressure that was and I think a 15-13 game is really admirable given the circumstances. If you look at Cal in 2004, it’s a similar story. You have a team that truly dominated all year but had never made the finals, at least not recently, and they couldn't handle a fired up and charged Mama Bird and they got rolled. However, in this instance, it was a 15-13 game, not 15-7. I think Bravo is only gonna get better and they have all the pieces to win it all in 2008. I also think that their win against Jam 15-9 in power pools is their biggest win of the season. Bravo comes in under seeded at 3rd (wow, underseeded at 3rd?!? But its true) and takes down the 1 seed as effectively as they had anyone else all weekend. Good for them. I also think however that it’s a curse to not be challenged until the finals. Before the finals Bravo had not played a close game taking out the likes of GOAT, Jam, Boston, Condors, all of them by at least 4. At no point was their offense really put to the test. Their defense always earned them the breaks they needed to win. However, when you get paired with a perfect team like Sockeye, not only does your D need to get you breaks, but your offense has to be perfect and that just didn't happen. If Bravo had faced a loss or even a double game point situation they would have the motivation to make the changes they needed in their offense, but like Furious last year, they just had no real challenge until it was too late. This is not the end though, be afraid Seattle.

Phew, Sockeye, way to make it exciting. Here you have a team that could have made worlds every year in between 2004 and now. They won it all in 2004, made the finals against Furious in 2005, losing, but they still woulda made World's. They win it all last year, so they would have been in, but in 2007, pulses were raised. You have a late season loss to Furious resulting in a 2 seed at nationals and you have to play a RED HOT and peaking Bravo not to mention an elite and experienced San Francisco Jam. I suppose it was lucky Furious wasn't at their best, because I cannot imagine how Sockeye could persevere through another challenge. They did however, This team is at dynasty status. I think they should be mentioned with DoG and NYNY. They might only have 3 titles but talent is more distributed now than it was in the 90s. There are better athletes, more youngsters and more teams. Sockeye is second to none and I am really glad to see them make it to Vancouver. They are the best team and I am proud to have them represent the USA next year. I was however kind of looking forward to writing of a Bravo/Sockeye upset that would have put Bravo in Vancouver instead of the Fish. That would have been a money blog entry, but alas, the Seattle boys are clutch and Sam O'Brien is a lucky (albeit extremely talented) SOB. Good luck next year.

Jam, way to battle back. This team really showed that they are not out of it. They deserve to be at the top. It goes to show you that at this level, it’s not all about personnel. You can't just throw together the best in the game and expect to win. You have to have a team dynamic and Jam has now earned that, either that or it’s all Damien Scott. I am sure disappointment is a total understatement when talking about Justice League, but as bad as Kevin Cissna, and Idris, and Bart must have felt, they must feel considerably better now then a year ago. They have completely redeemed themselves and have set the tone for their program in the future. Recruiting, reputation, all of that is now taken care of and this program will be the elite for years to come. My only criticism, the jerseys, come on, really? Could they have been any uglier.

Boston, way to really revamp while still keeping your competition at an impeccable level. Folks, if you want to start your own team, take notes. You have a team like Justice League, which basically did the same thing last year, only did not make it out of NW regionals when there were 4 bids. Boston however, not only in the face of intense competition in New England (and believe me the gap between regional champ and 3rd place is A LOT closer than anywhere else I have played), you also have to play against your former team mates. Forch, Sam Rosenthal, and Danny Clark had to make it to nationals when BVH and Bailey were suited up with other teams. They didn’t have to play each other in the finals at regionals but they sure as hell had to face them at Boston Invite not to mention know that during the series their former best was now trying to take their bid to nationals. But they did it. They looked opposition in the face, they totally revamped and recruited a whole new team with non-Boston Open players in Teddy, Goldstein, Gibson, and Jasper. Not to mention the fact that they still won NE regionals AGAIN. Forch still lead his team to greatness despite immense pressure from every angle (myself included). Hats off and you truly are one of the best programs this game has ever seen.

GOAT, holy crap, who ever thought this team was going to make semis? I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. There is this Canadian team that is making a run at the finals and it’s NOT Furious? They AREN’T from the northwest? How is this possible? Take a team that no one knows about, they have been there before, but 55-4 going into nationals? They won Boston Invite? Who are these guys? I think Hassell did a great job taking this team to a new level and I am so glad that the North East is opening up its talent pool. I think Boston is a great team but come on, they have won the region like 12 years in a row. A sectionals streak that long, fine, but regionals? It is nice to know that Boston has a challenge and these guys are only gonna get better. A turfed game winner will not happen next year. Forch’s layout D may get them the disc back on double game point, but only if GOAT gives up 4 breaks again. This team should strike fear in the hearts of Boston, but that will only make them better. That will give Boston the fire and the motivation to revamp and keep themselves honest. Its not Metal where you have a team of pseudo-Boston wannabes, you have a new program that plays in a different country that doesn’t play your brand of disc. It’s good for all parties and I am really proud of GOAT and am sooo glad they have off-centered jerseys, cuz my club team does to and GOAT is the reason why.

Sub Zero, yikes, boy was I wrong about this team. I hope folks see Sub Zero’s results and realize how good Wisconsin really is. Ok, they were a 5 seed and were expected to make quarters, but come on, how many national champs USED to play for Sub Zero. Nord, Chase, Sam O’Brien, and I am sure there are more. Plus you lose a player like Goldstein and your whole program is basically Madison college kids. They came off a national championship, but I have always thought that a club team cannot win if all their talent and experience comes from college kids. That was Bravo’s problem in years past. You have JV and Chicken and Richter all in their early 20s leading a team against players that have been playing since they were in Junior High. I think Sub Zero really showed themselves to be a young yet legit organization. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to recruit players to go to Minnesota but they do it or at least win with what they have. I am impressed and these guys, if they keep it up, are really gonna make/keep a name for themselves.

Chain, way to snap out of it. I have been watching Chain really closely this year because I had really high expectations. They were a semis team last year and they picked up ZIpp. How is that not a recipe for success? However, all year they had forgettable performances. They got owned at ECC, they were a 13 seed, they didn’t even win their region. They lost out to Double Wide who wasn’t even at nationals last year. I don’t know how but they got it done. Hammond and Simpson and Dylan all played their cards right and almost made it back to semis despite criticism (at least from me). Good work.

Condors, I liked seeing their results this year. I know that they didn’t exactly dominate but they did well. They have nothing to regret and they have really showed that they are not down and out. After 2005 and 2006 I was really wondering what it was gonna take to get these guys to win again. I feel like ultimate teams move in cycles and I hope Furious takes a lesson from Santa Barbara. The Condors were 1-5 in pool pay over the last 2 years yet they managed to go 2-1 this year. I suppose Jimmy Chu is quite the pick up, must be the Ninja Leggings he wears. I think this team will be able to recruit the best from a great UCSB team and hold on to talent that they have lost to co-ed and other teams.

Truck Stop. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know anything about this team. I know they are from DC but they did have a HUGE win that will never be forgotten in ultimate. They come out on Thursday and take down Furious in pool play as the 12 seed (3rd in their pool). Since 2002 (cuz that’s as far back as I could find) Furious is undefeated in pool play, that’s 15 straight wins on Thursday. I suppose that sort of win really propels a team and it did to the quarters play-in where they actually won, something that has not happened since 2005. Good for them and hopefully they can build the personnel to challenge Ring for that regional championship.

I should also give props to Shazaam, I think their dominance was only questioned twice this year. A loss to Brass at Labor Day and a pool play loss to Rival. However, much like Stanford Bloodthirsty did in 2002 when they lost to Davis in pool play at Davis, Bestock and the rest of the Seattle crew came back with a vengeance and macheted their way through bracket play. I also find it interesting that Bestock went from a national champ open player to a national champ co-ed player. I don’t know many folks that have done that. Jimmy went from Shazaam to Sockeye but I find this reverse migration interesting.

I also have to give it up for Parinella and the DoG guys. I find it really cool that after their exodus from Boston they immediately showed that they are still really really good with stellar, composed play in every game, 4 of which were within 2 points. I also think that its funny that they ditched the team name “Big Ego” and just went back to their roots with “DoG”. I am really glad I got the chance to play against this team, and sorry Parinella, I am also glad Korber tossed that world’s greatest to Linneman and we won at WMO.

As far as women go, it would be nice to see more parity. Not to take anything away from Fury or Riot, they are fantastic teams, but not many folks want to keep seeing a NW/NW final. Fury is amazing though. I remember when I was an undergrad with Alicia White and she was UCSD Psycho’s go to woman. I never thought I would see her get this far. I suppose I just didn’t know what I was around at the time. Good work.

I would love to write more about more teams, I just don’t have the information. Great work all around to teams like Slow White, AMP, Barrio, Lady Godiva, Machine, Rival, you all played very well in your respective divisions and I am really glad I know some players out there on these teams, great job and enjoy the winter break.

match diesel

Boston owns New England

So a lot of folks think I hate boston, and truth be told, I don't like the city, but the team, wow. The finals of northeast regionals was probably the best ultimate game I have ever witnessed. The weather was crap but I have to say, this game was incredible.

The first half was all GOAT. I only know 1 goat player, John Hassell, and he played a great game but their team was so deep and well rounded. Every player had throws and puts and played solid D. It really was a pleasure to watch a "faceless army". Boston recieved and the first point was pretty sloppy, ending in a break for GOAT. Boston answers back and the two teams go back and forth until about 3s or 4s, then GOAT takes over. They get huge D after huge D and rattle off 3 breaks in a row making it 8-4 at half. The end of the first half was very spectacular and equally heartbreaking for boston. GOAT has forced yet another turnover and are about to take half. They work it down and try and hit a cutter about mid way in the endzone on the backhand (right handed) side of the field. Seigs (who is soo much fun to watch...the human caricature) makes a bid on the disc, doesn't get it but the reciever misses. He tries to make a foul call, it gets overturned, Boston disc. Boston then proceeds to work the disc up the line and Teddy Brower Jarus gets the disc and attempts a backhand bomb down the line to Kurt Gibson(?) only to have it quail across the field resulting in a huge turnover. Some one from GOAT promptly picks it up and sends an absolutely perfect put the other way to a streaking John Hassell. He makes what appears to be a late bid and snatches the disc inches from the ground just inside the endzone for a spectacular goal to take half. Momentum - GOAT.

Second half started out with Boston on D. They had cleaned up things a bit but they are still down 4, count them, 4 breaks. They get 1 break back early but are absolutely battling to stay in the game. 11-7, 12-8, the teams trade point after point. At one point the game is 13-10 and I am starting to think two things, 1) will this be the day Forch does not win NE regionals, 2) will boston/DoG go out, not by Metal or NYNY, but by GOAT, a young Canadian team with a forgetable past on foreign soil?. Despite what most people think, i don't want to see Boston lose, but I don't really care to see them win, I just want to witness something great and I did. However bad Teddy felt when he failed to do the one thing he excels at (throwing) in the first half, he doubled that feeling in the opposite direction. I don't remember who threw it, maybe Gibson, but a flick huck goes up to Forch deep and it is drifting right to left and there is a small contingent of players running it down. Forch and 2 GOAT guys go up and no one touches it but out of nowhere, Teddy slides in and snags the disc before it hits the ground for a game saving goal. Forch is slightly hurt on the play, but this is HIS house and no one pushes him around. Boston then proceeds to bring it. A break here, a break there, Boston now ties the game at 13s and the significance and stakes of this game is only eclipsed by the amount of people watching in pure wonder. Can Boston do this, can they do what they do and take the Northeast region AGAIN? Can Forch lead his team to greatness in a fashion that has become expected, almost cliche?

GOAT has the disc and sends a bomb to a streaking GOAT cutter with Cole right behind, they both go UP......GOAT goal. Game point GOAT. Boston is now recieving. They work it up and are right outside the goal line. Gibson has the disc and cut after cut after cut is looked off. The stall count is getting high, the pressure is mounting. I can see the panic building on Kurt's face. A Boston cutter is yelling for the hammer, and Gibson grants his wish. Only (smack), the disc is hit. What otherwise would have been a perfect throw is now fluttering to the grass. But Boston would not be denied, Teddy comes out of nowhere, yet again, and reels in another game saving goal. For some (myself) Teddy would only be a co-ed allstar, but this kid is the real deal. His pulls, his layouts, his breaks, and most of all his composure, his will to win, phenomenal. Now, as almost as if this were scripted, Boston is pulling for universe point. A few throws here and there, a huck goes up to Hassell. He is streaking to the house with another GOAT cutter, and right in between these two 6 foot juggernaunts is the 5 foot nothing Fortunant Mueller. In what was probably the most clutch defensive stand I have ever seen, all three go up and out for this disc only to have Forch catch block the D. The crowd of hundreds erupts in elation, he did it, the son of a bitch did it, no fuckin way. Botson disc, double game point, will this game really end this way? It will be historic regardless, Boston makes the epic comeback or GOAT dethrowns the most storied ultimate team over the last 20 years. A time out is called. Boston resets the offense, and the disc starts moving, Boston is heading for glory and then as fast as Forch had snatched that D, BAM!!! John Hassell picks off a lazy incut from Cole. Oh fuck!! The collective concious of the Devens population sinks into depression, no way. Is this how it ends? GOAT is inches from pay dirt and they call time out.

Now this is high level club ultimate, this is not Florida/Wisconsin at Centex 2006. These teams are elite, they have players that have hundreds of games under their belt in a variety or pressure situations. The goal should almost be a formality, an end that everyone is expecting. The disc comes back in, GOAT is ready to sieze their destiny. A few swings here and there and then a simple IO flick for the goal, but the ground would catch this disc. Just over thrown is this 5 yard toss. BAM!! Boston is back in it. They may have 70 yards to go, but they are back in it. A few cuts here and there. Giora gets the disc and sends a missle to the endzone to a streaking Boston cutter. This cutter could have been Teddy or Kurt or Cole, but its not. Its not their house, its Forch's house, and of course, the little speedster from Scarsdale, is heading for his endless string of Regional titles. To no one's surprise but to all of our amazement, #8 lays out and pulls in the game winner. A pile of green and flesh forms in the endzone. Boston will not be denied. Where is Rob when you need him? If I was not there I would not have cared/believed in the power Boston has in Devens in October.

I was a witness. This game was epic. It wasn't about exciting plays either. This game was just played very well. GOAT had all the weapons and defenders to match Boston. Boston had the allstar squad but they won this game with heart and they rode the kid that has been there since 1998. I am dining on my words tonight. Boston is the real deal. I don't know about nationals, but this team is good. It was a pleasure to watch and play on the same field. Good luck at nationals.

match diesel

Late Summer Elite Disc

So the regular season is pretty much over with and sectional tournaments are gonna start popping up everywhere. I thought I would talk about some teams and some things that I think are interesting.

Elite Open

Furious (start off with my team) - One can never really get a feel for this team until regionals. Seems like they always have a less than stellar showing through sectionals and then wham! they win regionals and make the finals at natties. Some things to think about. 1) I think Furious at CUC is the furious we'll see at Regionals. Everyone was there, and everyone wanted to win. From the ECC footage I saw it didn't look like MG was there and who knows who decided to make it down to Santa Cruz for their 3rd tournament in a row. I think they are resting up their heavy hitters and are preparing for the series. 2) Furious, to me, seems like they are getting older, at least with their head liners. Alot of their guys, Lugsdin, Savage, Shank, MG, AL Bob, Seragalia, have been with the team for almost a decade. Now this is great, lots of chemistry, experience, etc... but they do not have the young college recruits that some other teams like Sockeye and Bravo have. Its been a while since an "Oscar" has popped up in Vancover and with guys like Kubalanza going over to Sockeye, its gonna be tough for them to compete with the likes of Tim Gehret, Ray Illian, Seth, etc.. on Sockeye not to mention other teams like Chain, Boston, Condors, Bravo and Revolver who are all picking up young college/club studs like Zipp, Kurt Gibson, Jacob Goldstein, Jimmy Chu, and the mama bird/hodag crowd (respectively). Now I think Furious can compete now, but in 2-3 years, without some new blood, its gonna be tough to match the athleticism that some of these teams are gonna have. I for one think they'll find a way, I mean come on, 3 UPA championships and a world title in the last 6 years.

Sockeye - These guys are interesting. It seems like they can win at will, but only at will. It looks like they know that they are the most talented team in the country and they let some teams creep up on them. I mean they won ECC but letting Boston get the better of them in pool play? I dunno. I do however know that they are the best team in the country. if they are focused and wanna win, they are going to. Their handler core is too good with Sam O'brian, TG, and Wiggins. Their deep game, when they want it to be, is unparalled with Nord, Chase and Ray, and their middle cutters like Sammy CK, Seth, and Moses can't be covered. Not to mention they have some of the best defenders in Skippy and Roger Crafts. So I think that their performance against the buzz bullets (both times) is pretty indicative. labor day not so much. I think they'll take sectionals 15-8 over Furious and then maybe 15-11 over Furious or JAM at regionals.

JAM - Despite hideous uniforms, these kids are good. JAM is having a fantastic year coming off "chokefest '06". It looks like they got Damien Scott back, and anyone who has played near this guy will tell you he is the balls. really impressive showings at Colorado, ECC and Labor Day. I think they'll play well at regionals (finish 2nd/3rd). I would love to see them upset Sockeye, but I don't see JAM breaking out of the clutch-less cage they have been in for awhile. In any event, they seem like they have the fire, which might be all it takes. Should sweep sectionals and if they don't they are screwed.

Bravo - This is a team I want to see in the finals. These guys are so good and work so well with eachother and they deserve to break out of the semi-finals and make it on Sunday at natties. Their young guys are soo good and are basically the legs and the leaders on this team. Their handlers are so good with Chicken and Parker, their deeps are so good with Jolian and Beau (notice how I put Jolian first, guy is sooooo good and doesn't get the press he deserves), fired up cutters like Richter, rabbit, and JV can play both sides of the disc and they still have a whole troop of veterans in Willy D, Valdavia, Tripoli, etc.... Their height is pretty polar though with tall guys playing really tall and not so tall guys, yeah not so tall. However, their chemistry is top notch and I think they will do well.

Revolver - These fellas are so up and down. They are a good squad but I think some of the Stanford guys might need a break from elite disc. I'd be surprised if Sherwood, Robbie, and Nan are fired up about playing another elite level season after playing another semi-finals loss in Columbus. Who knows though? Those are my guys, I'd love to see them take down JAM at sectionals. The good news is that they have had a few great late season wins with W's over Rhino, Furious and Condors. Hopefully they bring it this weekend in Santa Cruz.

Boston - I am gonna do some serious word eating if Boston gets lucky in the series. I am so impressed with them and they have done far better than I expected. Huge wins at ECC over Sockeye and Bravo. A less than stellar showing at Chesapeake, but thats their 3rd tourney in 4 weekends, so I'm not too worried. It looks like Kurt and Goldstein are doing well for the Boston crowd. Somewhere Vicious Cycle is crying after losing their top 2 players. I would like to see them do well at Nationals but they have a lot of guys that haven't been there for open, ie Teddy and Jasper, and hopefully they will continue to play as they have. I think they have a shot at quarters but beyond that, it is gonna take somer serious luck.

Condors - Now these guys have been off the radar for about 2 years now. After losing Namkung and Steets (both I think play for JAM) they have seen their success dip at nationals. However, now they have Jimmy Chu, who I believe is one of the best D line handlers in the country. Great showings at Colorado and Labor Day. Not getting into ECC must have sucked but I am sure they want to return to the glory days of '00 and '01. I think they'll make power pools at natties but they'll probably have to fight in the "play-in game" for quarters.

Rhino - I wish I knew more about this team. I know that Seth used to play on it and there were rumors that Chase was going to. All I know is that they are basically an Ego squad (correct me if I am wrong) but according to most, they are legit. maybe a bit young but defintely talented. Have the ability to catch anyone sleeping and I hope they do. I think if they bring whatever they had at Solstice they'll do well but making nationals with a fired up JAM and Revolver fighting for spots 3 and 4 and Sockeye and Furious for spots 1 and 2, its gonna be tough.

Chain Lighting - Now this is a team that I think is having a rough year. Made semis last year and they picked up Zipp. They have dylan, Jason Simpson, and John Hammond so they have the talent to do well. I dunno if they are gonna have any competition until nationals. Maybe with Double Wide at regionals. Hopefully they get it together and do well.

Elite Co-ed (I have gotten into Co-ed recently because of some friends, so here are my thoughts)

Shazaam - Watch out. These guys are on a tear. They have won every tourney they have gone to and are my favorites to take the region. i watched them at Boston and they looked wayyy to complete to be stopped by any other co-ed team. With them, Brass Monkey and Mischef, NW co-ed regionals could be almost as good as natties.

Mischef - the current champs are having a decent year despite not making it into Potlatch. They had such an interesting showing at nationals last year with close win after close win, so who knows with them. The smith brothers really know their stuff and can dominate most teams. However, their grip and rip style could be a little more conservative and might get them into turn over trouble against pateint teams. They managed to win it all last year and they have picked up some new/better players, so who knows.

Slow White - The only team that really draws water in the NE deserves to make at least semis at nationals this year. Really close to winning it all last year but fell short. Their guys are top notch and their girls, if used better, are some of the best i have seen in Co-ed. Don't know how they are gonna do without Jasper or Teddy but they do have Miles and a few other new players that can ball. Heavy weights should be a good tournament and they should sweep that and the series in NE. Hopefully they get a nice little confidence boost to carry them to the promise land.


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Boston 2012?

Cuz its not gonna happen in 2008.

So there has been this new thing in ultimate up here in the northeast this spring, the fusion of DoG and Twisted Metal (and anyone else who is good enough in the area). So folks are calling this team Death Meal or Twisted Glory, I for one am a big fan of "or (space)"...wait for it......got it. Apparently, the powers that be have decided to make a new bad ass disc squad this spring and summer to challenge Sockeye for the title of best ultimate team in the US. Such an honor carries with it the UPA 2007 club title and the oppurtunity to represent the US at the world ultimate games in Vancover, Canada in august of 2008. Boston DoG won the gold 2000 after winning the club title in San Diego in 1999. The Condors got the chance to represent the US after finishing 2nd to furious (being the #1 USA team) in 2003 and got silver in 2004. So its 4 years later and its time for the US to pick another squad and boston wants to lay their hand down and see what happens. I for one think that this is a horrible idea and I hope this boston squad goes down in flames. Now let me tell you why.

First, I realize that all these guys are better than me, as can be seen with their -A guys tooling us at White Mountain Open in the semis. Second, I am a huge jack ass that loves the west coast and despises the east.

Now for some real discussion. I suppose my main criticism goes out to twisted metal. After learning the legacy that was this squad, I was very disappointed to learn that they were fusing with DoG. To my understanding, Jeff Graham, a great Umass player, was not a fan of the DoG squad so he started his own team and developed a stellar, albeit bottom 1/2 of club nationals, team of ultimate players to challenge the NE power house. This team has only been inexistence for ~5 years and has already shown to be a legit squad that deserves a spot at nationals, even if they don't make it into quarters. Coming from San Diego, just making nationals is a big deal and if you get to the play-in game, you have done well. It might not be bracket play, but you did well, and there is always next year, after all, a lot of these other teams have been around 2-3x longer. So I guess you could say I am a Twisted fan. Not unlike Revolver, they challenged the evil empire of their region and despite the fact that they haven't taken down DoG yet, they still are contenders. Maybe Revolver took down Justice League or Dragon or JAM now, but then again, JAM isn't as good as DoG and Revolver only had one more important game over Twisted and Twisted went 3-0 in weaker (not power) pool play. So what is my point? Twisted is good, they have a reason to exist, they are not chumps. So why join the evil empire? Why dissolve your team just cuz DoG wants to? Maybe it was Twisted's idea to combine, which is even worse. It'd be like if the boston red sox and the new your yankees fused to become one team just to topple the st. louis cardinals. I believe twisted totally sold themselves out and showed that being a part of general boston team and playing with regional rivals is better than being your own legit squad. Sham on Metal, they are better than this.

Secondly, this sucks because it just shows how much of a strong hold DoG has on ultimate in New England. Now I know they won 6 national titles in a row and will go down in history as one of the best programs ever, but so what. They won their last national title in 1999, can anyone even tell me who won the world series, superbowl, nba finals, or stanley cup in 1999? Respect they deserve, leadership, I dunno. Parinella is a great innovater of the game and so are a lot of the other players on DoG, but these guys are fucking snobs. They think they know everything about this game just cuz they won 6 titles. Now that sounds like a retared sentence, but let me follow with, just because you win, doesn't give you the right to think you are above the game, above your competition, above your competitors. Any real champion will congratulate their opponent in a game well played before touting themselves and any real champion will humble themselves before the game and thank their talent, timing, and team mates over telling the world why they are better. After reading some of Parinella's writings and playing against him, I can say that he is a really nice guy, but he thinks he is god and its fucking ridiculous. Its a game and just because you USED to win doesn't make you the end all be all. I mean parinella talking shit about us (col 45) after we beat his team at WMO on his blog was absured and the guy should've just said, "we looked past them they were a good team" instead of "It was disheartening to lose the quarterfinals after being up 12-9 and 14-12 in a game to 15, and against a team that is probably about an 8th-10th place at Regionals quality. No doubt about that feeling. " Sometimes other teams win, not you lose. Ok, so off parinella back to DoG. I hate seeing a team with so much clout totally take over/absorb a younger team just cuz of a reputation. I mean the hope is to be able to challenge the NW (not to mention Bravo and Chain) for the #1 US team, and DoG got beat by every NW team (thats 4 loses). So many people here in New England kiss ass to DoG, Forch, and Parinella and it is soo fucking annoying. Maybe their wouldn't be ultimate in Connecticut with out Mr Mueller, but come on, he's not god. And the same goes for other phenoms in the area. I have been wanting to say this for months and its my blog so yeah, Eric Pitt, you're a fucking homo who needs to get out of Teddy's ass. Guy is a great player and a nice guy, but stop sucking his cock you brown nose cock knocker. Get a freaking life. Ok a little rant, my apologies. So yeah DoG shouldn't get this much clout. Respect yes, admiration yes, but this much power? they don't deserve it and its kinda sad to see this happen. You would never see Revolver and JAM fuse (fingers crossed that this doesn't happen). I would hope that Nick Handler and the rest of the Stanford guys would tell Watson and Eastham to go to hell. Metal should have done the same.

Now lets look at the logic of this move. There are 2 essential things you need to win in this game. Talent and chemistry. Take a look at sockeye in 2005. Basically the same team as 2006 but hey lost 13-15 instead of won 15-13. Why? Well in 2004 they reloaded and boy did they reload. Their squad got Nord and soon after Ray Illian, Idaho, etc... However, you gotta play with your guys for awhile first. You have an all-star squad, yes, but your guys have to know the ins and outs of eachother (no homo). Fast forward a year, you have sockeye 2006 and they dominated, first team to ever sweep nationals since the power pool format. Good for them. How the hell is Boston going to compete with that? And what about Bravo, Chain, JAM, or anyother veteran squad of flatballers? You can't just throw some guys together anymore and think you can win natties. Its not gonna happen. Now, I would think that these 30+ year old players with their 20+ years of experience would know this and even the younger guys should, begging the question, why would you dissolve your break away kick ass team to play with guys you wanted to not play with just to try to win something you have no shot at? (at least not in 2008) Metal and DoG should think about 2 things, 1) why aren't we winning? and 2) lets be patient and develop the tools, the recruiting and the strategy to realistically win it all. Now maybe DoG has changed, maybe the rivalry isn't what it used to be, maybe their isn't bad blood anymore and DoG and Metal have come to a common understanding. That is still no excuse. A true team stands on its own and wins games, not gold medals. This is steinbrenner disc and it sucks. I hope they don't even make power pools.

Now lets take a look at their competition. First, DoG lost one of the most dominate players in the history of college disc and a very very good club player in Josh Zipperstein. Rumor has it that he is now trying out for, guess who, Sockeye. And not only is this a low blow but I have also heard that Sockeye is picking up Seth Wiggins, Kubalanza, and the worst of all, Tim Gehret. Yikes, I thought Sockeye was good last year. Now this specualtion comes from a source that was at Cal States this weekend, so I am going with what was told to me, but all this looks like pretty scary odds against Boston. With that in mind, how is it that Metal guys can think to themselves, well we can try and beat the NW by playing with our rivals or beat them with our team mates. Maybe in an ID4, bill pullman pump up speech, this is a pretty story that pits the underdog NE against the evil NW. But the NE are a bunch of arrogant douches and the NW are a class act of good players who respect their competition and the game they play above their own accomplishments, so fuck New England. So thats the NW/NE debate situation. But what about the rest of the club national squads. Sorry but Chain and Bravo are 2 teams that made it out of quarters and were better than DoG this past year. Neither one of these squads is losing anyone big and they are only getting better with the the maturation of the Hodag influence into the SW club scene (ie valdavia and tripoli) and chain just being good, I mean who saw simpson in the show case game? So yeah, even if "or (space)" is a legit, well polished, team, they have to go through sooo many better teams to get the golden disc.

Also, lets look at this world title for a second as well. Its a world title in Ultimate. Now, does that even mean anything? Ok, you get a gold medal if you win, you get to play against other countries, but is it really a world title? Is the winner of this world title the best in the world? And is the 2nd or 3rd place or 8th place, really that rank in the world? No fucking way. take a look at the 3 world championships currently. First there was the one in 2005 which will be in Asia in 2009. A co-ed ultimate tournament where the US sent a team based not on pure talent but via political reasons. I mean come on, Namkung and Willy D on the team over Nord? Where was Sammy CK? Damien Scott? Maybe some of the best had other plans, fine. But if we can send a team that arguably isn't the best, not unlike the olympic team USA basketball of 2004, and still win the gold, is the gold medal really worth that much? I know that this tournament only happens every 4 years, but I mean, we could have sent an entirely different squad of men and women (maybe hold on to miranda roth) and we could still could have won. This implies that USA is the best, ok, but not the team we sent. So world championship #1 is not so stellar

Now lets look at the latest one in Perth, Australia. Yes Japan won, but are they really the best in the world? I mean the two US open team there were Sub-Zero and Double Wide. Both very good US teams that have done well in nationals in the past but sub-zero didn't even make quarters and Double Wide didn't even qualify for nationals. So my point is, how good was the competition at this WORLD tournament.

Now, lets take a look at the best world tournament, the one coming up in 2008, which, in my opinion will crown the deserving #1 team and #2 in the world but thats about it. Furious and whatever US team will probably finish 1 and 2 just like 2004 but the rest of the pack will be forgettable. I mean team USA and Canada basically rolled over the rest of the world. The closest anyone got to team USA was finland 17-15 (ok close I'll give you that) but the next was the UK at 15-12. Team canada was even worse. Team USA fought them 14-12 in the finals but aside from that, Sweeden lost 17-12. So really, is this tournament really a test of the best in the world? My opinion is NO.

So why all this discussion? My overall point here is that a world title is more of a personal achievement in ultimate. The game is not big enough where the rest of the world can really contest the US or Canada and so a gold medal is great, but its like furious winning the Canadian ultimate championships, its just no biggy, I mean they don't even go to the tourney anymore. I suppose my argument is that dissovling a strong team that was made for a strong reason for a weak attempt at a weak title is pretty, well, weak. I think going to world's would be a lot of fun and you get to do the whole trade jersey thing and paly with other people from around the world and all that sappy crap, but realistically, there is more than 1 us team that could potentially make at least the finals at such a tournament, so what makes you think you are truly the best in the world? In my opinion being the best means beating the best. While it maybe nice to tell the guys at work you are going to british columbia to compete at World's for a sport that currently commands little outside respect, the ones truly in the know, understand that the world champion is crowned every October. Worlds is just a fancy/expensive tournament to tell the world something that, for those who care, they already know.

So why am I so critical, why so agains this merger. These guys just want to the chance to say they won gold, whats wrong with that? They sold out. They (metal) quit on the most elmental part of their game (their team) for a tangible piece of medal. They (metal) quit on their team, they (DoG) asserted undeserved power, and I hope they (or space) go down in flames. They won't and don't deserve to be the best in the world.

Go sockeye, go Bravo, go Chain, go Revovler, Rhino, JAM, Double Wide, VC, BAT, go anyone but Boston. These great and talented players that will become Twisted Bitch or Rusted Glory, or whatever, will go down in flames and hopefully I will be in sarasota this halloween to be drunk and tearful in my joy.

match diesel